The Indian‑flagged LPG tanker Pine Gas was held at anchor after Feb. 28 strikes and only cleared to transit the Strait of Hormuz on March 23. Iran's IRGC directed the vessel along an uncommon channel north of Larak Island because regular lanes were reportedly mined. The ship sailed after unanimous crew consent and was guided and later escorted by the Indian Navy; IRGC did not board and no passage fee was paid. The 45,000‑ton cargo was split for discharge at Visakhapatnam and Haldia.
Escaping Hormuz: How Indian LPG Tanker Pine Gas Took a Rare Route Amid Rising Tensions
FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
NEW DELHI, March 31 (Reuters) - The Indian‑flagged LPG tanker Pine Gas set out from the United Arab Emirates' Ruwais terminal on Feb. 28 planning a quick return to India. But after strikes on Iran the same day, the vessel was held for nearly three weeks as Tehran began allowing only selected ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
Chief Officer Sohan Lal said the Pine Gas's 27 Indian crew watched missiles and drones fly overhead while the ship waited at anchor. In footage reviewed by Reuters, at least five projectiles streak across the night sky above the vessel.
Indian officials asked the crew to be on standby around March 11, but the ship was not cleared to sail until March 23 — and not via the usual shipping lanes. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed the tanker to navigate a narrow channel north of Larak Island, a route rarely used by commercial traffic.
Lal said the Indian government and the shipowner, Mumbai‑based Seven Islands Shipping, required explicit consent from every crew member before proceeding. "They needed a yes or a no from all crew," he said. "Everyone onboard agreed." He added the IRGC recommended the Larak channel because the regular Hormuz passage was reportedly mined.
According to Lal, the Indian Navy provided navigation guidance while the Pine Gas transited the channel, and then four Indian warships escorted the tanker for almost 20 hours from the Gulf of Oman into the Arabian Sea. He said the vessel paid no fee and IRGC personnel never boarded.
Cargo And Broader Impact
The Pine Gas was carrying about 45,000 metric tons of LPG. Originally scheduled to unload at the west‑coast port of Mangalore, Indian authorities ordered the cargo split equally for discharge at the eastern ports of Visakhapatnam and Haldia to meet domestic needs.
Iran has said it will permit passage through the Strait of Hormuz for "friendly nations" such as China, Russia, India, Iraq and Pakistan. Reuters reported that six Indian vessels have successfully exited the strait, while 18 Indian‑flagged ships carrying roughly 485 Indian seafarers remain in the Persian Gulf.
(Reporting by Saurabh Sharma in New Delhi; Writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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